The present invention relates to the field of surgical handpieces such as those used for dental or medical care, and it relates more particularly to an appliance for controlling such a handpiece.
The present invention relates in particular to scalers, to micromotors, and to prophylactic, diagnostic, imaging, or surgical appliances.
The space occupied in dental or medical surgeries by the equipment used by the practitioner is a recurrent problem that is due both to the numerous wired links comprising supply cords for delivering electricity or fluids to surgical handpieces, and also to the multiple links with the associated control systems.
This applies for example in dentistry for appliances for removing scale. As shown in FIG. 1, a scaler appliance 100 typically comprises a control device 110 (i.e. a central unit) that serves in particular to generate ultrasound, the device being connected to the surgical handpiece 115 by a cord 111. A sonotrode or ultrasound insert 130 is mounted on the top or distal portion of the handpiece 115. In well-known manner, the handpiece 115 has a piezoelectric transducer (not shown) that is mechanically coupled to the insert 130 so as to transmit ultrasound vibration thereto at amplitudes that are a function of the electrical power delivered by the ultrasound generator.
The control device 110 may also feed the handpiece 115 with irrigation fluid via the cord 111 and with the help of an irrigation pump (not shown).
The front face of the control device 110 in this example includes a man-machine interface constituted by keys 135 and a screen 138. This interface enables the operator to adjust control settings such as the electrical power delivered to the handpiece 115 and the irrigation rate generated by the irrigation pump.
The system is also frequently fitted with a wired control pedal 140 enabling the operator to adjust the control parameters by foot.
Such a scaler appliance thus has three types of connection, namely: a first connection for powering the control device 110; a second connection (i.e. the cord 111) for connecting the handpiece 115 to the control device 110; and a third connection 150 for connecting the control device 110 to the pedal 140.
The increasing number of pieces of equipment present in dental or medical surgeries makes it necessary to rationalize the ways they are connected together and to reduce the space they occupy.
Various solutions have been provided, in particular by using control devices that are capable of communicating over a wireless link of the unidirectional or bidirectional type with a remote control. This type of wireless link may operate in application of various standards, such as a Bluetooth™ (registered trademark) protocol, for example (in compliance with IEEE Standard 802.15.1).
Nevertheless, other protocols can be used such as the following protocols: WiFi, Zigbee, and NFC, which correspond respectively to the following standards: IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15.4, and ISO/CEI 1444.
Remote control makes it advantageously possible to eliminate certain wired links such as those connecting the control pedal to the central unit, for example. One particular configuration is described for example in document US 2012/0064483 A1.
Nevertheless, wireless control devices for a surgical handpiece present certain risks in terms of safety associated with the particular uses to which these appliances are put.
It can happen that the control device suffers a malfunction and that its wireless communication link becomes degraded, interrupted, or cannot be properly established with the remote control. Such a failure may result from various problems such as a software bug, a flat battery, operator error, . . . It can also happen that the wireless link is disturbed by the outside environment (interference from nearby wireless devices, for example).
It can also happen that there is conflict between two control systems used in parallel, a wired system and a wireless system.
Other emergency situations can also occur if the remote control is not within the operator's reach (or if the remote control is actuated in error by a third party) and the operator seeks to regain control over the handpiece quickly.
Medical interventions performed using such surgical handpieces are generally difficult so it is essential for the operator to have full control over the control settings of the appliance.
There therefore exists a need for a control device that mitigates the drawbacks of present devices, and in particular for a control device that makes it easier to adjust control settings, while providing safer control of the handpiece.